The first time I had migraine was when I was 14 or 15, my pheripheral vision went blurry for an hour after that vision went normal then got a major headache and throwup I still remember that day. I am a 34 year old male. I had no idea what it was i thought maybe I was going blind . But it never ever happenned after that. until I was 26 and I almost got in a car accident seems like the stress from that instantly gave me the blurriness in my vision and then got migaines maybe 2 or 3 times after that. in all these episodes of migraines my aura went away once my headache kicked in and then about 4 to 5 hours later I felt normal as far as vision and headache. But last year I got the aura and then the headache but this time something strange happened my aura did not go away and stayed with me permamently for 5 months this was a very very light aura no headaches at all. when I say permanent i mean 24 /7 all day all night all the time. Then in the month of November last year I went for a vacation for a month and after a few days the aura went away. In between these 5 months before the vacation I saw physician, neurologist, headache/ neurologist, eye doctor, ENT, did sleep study, gastro no one was able to figure out what was wrong everything came out normal. Except that I had migraines. So after the vacation everything was normal so I figured well this was just a once time thing and everythings fine now. But after a month I got the same aura back, it is the exact same thing very very light aura i feel lethargic, things just don't seem normal as far as my vision, it feels like something is not setting right. I can see everything fine and there is no blurriness but just feel that something is there in my pheripheral vision something that is very very very faint i cant see it to describe it. I also feel very lethargic. Get tired really soon If I try any physical activity, this feeling is there 24/7 and same for the aura it never goes away. It has been 2 months now. At work it has become very difficult to concentrate but I try my best to just work and not think about it, got to pay the bills. then I come home to my 3 year old son and he wants to play with me specially run, this has started affecting my life and it has become impossible to do anything outside, the only time i feel better is when I am sitting or lying.funny thing is when I getup in the morning I feel worse with this aura. Everynight I go to bed thinking hopefully tommorrow will be that day that this thing will go away. Ok I think I can describe what I feel, it is a feeling like when you are drunk or have a hangover and light pressure in the brain. Imagine feeling that all the time.I have no idea if there is anoyone who has gone through what I am going through. I have no idea if this is migraine or something else.

I think a lot of us really can relate to that, so know that you're not alone. My normal behavior does sometimes resemble that of a drunkard, though without the merriment. Personally, cognitive aura and constant pain + heavy medication cause this effect in me, but I have, on occasion, had the blurry aura without pain, like you wrote about. I think that a lot of people (doctors and migraineurs alike) would be quick to "diagnose" your problems as "silent migraine" or something of the sort. Generally this means that you experience a migraine without the symptom of pain. However, although the problem you're having sounds somewhat like the more common visual type of aura that many migraine sufferers go through, your lack of other migraine-like symptoms makes me a little hesitant to jump to that conclusion.

As I understand things, visual aura is thought to be caused by constriction of blood vessels that are in or lead to the occipital lobe. The lack of blood flow (read: reduced O2) in that area of the brain causes disturbances in its functionality (vision). Now, when someone is experiencing a migraine, a significant imbalance of certain neurotransmitters and neuropeptides can be the cause of the fluctuation between blood vessel constriction (which occurs first in the migraine cycle and causes aura--the type of aura depends on where the blood flow has dropped). The next step in a traditional migraine is the homeostatic response (the drive in the other direction to attempt to correct the imbalance that ends up going to far) that causes supervasodilation and then pain. So, it seems like you just get stuck at the first step.

This could be partial neural and neurovascular overexcitation--a partial migraine if you will. Or it could be any number of other things that can alter the function of the occipital lobe. This could be something that blocks blood flow on the visual cortex, it could be localized neurotransmitter imbalances, it could even be an extracranial problem, at the level of the optic nerve, in the eye, or anywhere in between. Please remember, of course, that these ideas are just my own speculation based on the situation that you described. I am in no way a doctor, I simply have an undergraduate level understanding of biochemistry and neuroscience.

A good neurologist will know what to look for to figure out the problem that you are experiencing. This may involve regular neurological exams (of the "follow my finger with your eyes only" and "close your eyes and touch your nose with each hand" variety), closer optical examinations, blood tests, etc. From the very limited information that I have, I could imagine you being put on some sort of cardiovascular medication (like a beta or calcium channel blocker) or possibly an antidepressant of one type or another if your medical team feels that there is a neurochemical imbalance. Overall, as I said earlier, there are a ton of us that experience this kind of problem every day. Most of us have (often severe) pain accompanying the visual or other sensory distortions. In the large majority of these cases, there's really nothing to be worried about other than the way that the symptoms affect our lives. For example, I've had severe pain every second of every day for nearly six years with some aura-like symptoms and stuff like nausea. I've had all sorts of testing and we've found nothing unusual (other than the constant pain). So, if the symptoms disappeared one day, even though I'd likely still have something wrong with me that modern medicine is presently unable to understand, I would be fine then. I imagine (and hope) that this is the case with your condition--relieve the symptoms and you're home-free. So, with a fair degree of confidence I'll say, continue to see your medical specialists and you'll be feeling better in no time. And I'm sure that you make a great dad even if you take things a little slower for a while.

I'm not a doctor and I don't really know anything about this really, but I read that occipital lobe epilepsy can often be misdiagnosed as migraine and with that you get an aura, and sometimes I think that's the only way the epilepsy manifests itself in some people, but I don't know for sure. Something you could do some research on. I read that transitory and permanent visual field defects can be induced by occipital lobe epilepsy. I wouldn't be scared, but if this is the cause then you can get better.

I had a similar aura last year and am now treated for 'non-pain' migraines (although I get the pain migraines too). The visual aura was very difficult to deal with because it rarely went away. I called it 'contrasty vision'--blurry but more so just hard to focus--made me feel lightheaded and drunk as you noted. Bright warehouse lighting like at Sam's club and other stores made it worse. My inability to concentrate and focus at work was the worst part--I felt like I had lost all my brain cells. I couldn't think anymore.

I took Nortriptylene for several months but it made me drowsy and I had a hard time getting up in the morning. Now I take Venlafaxine (generic for Effexor) and I feel good. Effexor is an antidepressant but I am on a really low dose and it helps.

If you are in the Chicago area and looking for a neurologist I highly recommend my doctor.